Methods for the detection and characterization of specific nucleic acid sequences and sequence variations have been used to detect the presence of viral or bacterial nucleic acid sequences indicative of an infection, to detect the presence of variants or alleles of genes associated with disease and cancers. These methods also find application in the identification of sources of nucleic acids, as for forensic analysis or for paternity determinations.
Various methods are known to the art that may be used to detect and characterize specific nucleic acid sequences and sequence variants. Nonetheless, with the completion of the nucleic acid sequencing of the human genome, as well as the genomes of numerous pathogenic organisms, the demand for fast, reliable, cost-effective and user-friendly tests for the detection of specific nucleic acid sequences continues to grow. Importantly, these tests must be able to create a detectable signal from samples that contain very few copies of the sequence of interest. The following discussion examines two levels of nucleic acid detection assays currently in use: I. Signal Amplification Technology for detection of rare sequences; and II. Direct Detection Technology for quantitative detection of sequences.
I. Signal Amplification Technology Methods for Amplification
The “Polymerase Chain Reaction” (PCR) comprises the first generation of methods for nucleic acid amplification. However, several other methods have been developed that employ the same basis of specificity, but create signal by different amplification mechanisms. These methods include the “Ligase Chain Reaction” (LCR), “Self-Sustained Synthetic Reaction” (3SR/NASBA), and “Qβ-Replicase” (Qβ).
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195, 4,683,202, and 4,965,188 to Mullis and Mullis et al. (the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference), describe a method for increasing the concentration of a segment of target sequence in a mixture of genomic DNA without cloning or purification. This technology provides one approach to the problems of low target sequence concentration. PCR can be used to directly increase the concentration of the target to an easily detectable level. This process for amplifying the target sequence involves introducing a molar excess of two oligonucleotide primers that are complementary to their respective strands of the double-stranded target sequence to the DNA mixture containing the desired target sequence. The mixture is denatured and then allowed to hybridize. Following hybridization, the primers are extended with polymerase so as to form complementary strands. The steps of denaturation, hybridization, and polymerase extension can be repeated as often as needed, in order to obtain relatively high concentrations of a segment of the desired target sequence.
The length of the segment of the desired target sequence is determined by the relative positions of the primers with respect to each other, and, therefore, this length is a controllable parameter. Because the desired segments of the target sequence become the dominant sequences (in terms of concentration) in the mixture, they are said to be “PCR-amplified.”
Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR or LAR)
The ligase chain reaction (LCR; sometimes referred to as “Ligase Amplification Reaction” (LAR) described by Barany, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 88:189 (1991); Barany, PCR Methods and Applic., 1:5 (1991); and Wu and Wallace, Genomics 4:560 (1989) has developed into a well-recognized alternative method for amplifying nucleic acids. In LCR, four oligonucleotides, two adjacent oligonucleotides which uniquely hybridize to one strand of target DNA, and a complementary set of adjacent oligonucleotides, that hybridize to the opposite strand are mixed and DNA ligase is added to the mixture. Provided that there is complete complementarity at the junction, ligase will covalently link each set of hybridized molecules. Importantly, in LCR, two probes are ligated together only when they base-pair with sequences in the target sample, without gaps or mismatches. Repeated cycles of denaturation, hybridization and ligation amplify a short segment of DNA. LCR has also been used in combination with PCR to achieve enhanced detection of single-base changes. Segev, PCT Public. No. W09001069 A1 (1990). However, because the four oligonucleotides used in this assay can pair to form two short ligatable fragments, there is the potential for the generation of target-independent background signal. The use of LCR for mutant screening is limited to the examination of specific nucleic acid positions.
Self-Sustained Synthetic Reaction (3SR/NASBA)
The self-sustained sequence replication reaction (3SR) (Guatelli et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 87:1874-1878 [1990], with an erratum at Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 87:7797 [1990]) is a transcription-based in vitro amplification system (Kwok et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 86:1173-1177 [1989]) that can exponentially amplify RNA sequences at a uniform temperature. The amplified RNA can then be utilized for mutation detection (Fahy et al., PCR Meth. Appl., 1:25-33 [1991]). In this method, an oligonucleotide primer is used to add a phage RNA polymerase promoter to the 5′ end of the sequence of interest. In a cocktail of enzymes and substrates that includes a second primer, reverse transcriptase, RNase H, RNA polymerase and ribo- and  deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, the target sequence undergoes repeated rounds of transcription, cDNA synthesis and second-strand synthesis to amplify the area of interest. The use of 3SR to detect mutations is kinetically limited to screening small segments of DNA (e.g., 200-300 base pairs).
Q-Beta (Qβ) Replicase
In this method, a probe that recognizes the sequence of interest is attached to the replicatable RNA template for Qβ replicase. A previously identified major problem with false positives resulting from the replication of unhybridized probes has been addressed through use of a sequence-specific ligation step. However, available thermostable DNA ligases are not effective on this RNA substrate, so the ligation must be performed by T4 DNA ligase at low temperatures (37° C.). This prevents the use of high temperature as a means of achieving specificity as in the LCR, the ligation event can be used to detect a mutation at the junction site, but not elsewhere.
Table 1 below, lists some of the features desirable for systems useful in sensitive nucleic acid diagnostics, and summarizes the abilities of each of the major amplification methods (See also, Landgren, Trends in Genetics 9:199 [1993]).
A successful diagnostic method must be very specific. A straight-forward method of controlling the specificity of nucleic acid hybridization is by controlling the temperature of the reaction. While the 3SR/NASBA, and Qβ systems are all able to generate a large quantity of signal, one or more of the enzymes involved in each cannot be used at high temperature (i.e., >55° C.). Therefore the reaction temperatures cannot be raised to prevent non-specific hybridization of the probes. If probes are shortened in order to make them melt more easily at low temperatures, the likelihood of having more than one perfect match in a complex genome increases. For these reasons, PCR and LCR currently dominate the research field in detection technologies.
TABLE 1MethodPCR &3SRFeaturePCRLCRLCRNASBAQβAmplifies Target++++Recognition of Independent+++++Sequences RequiredPerformed at High Temp.++Operates at Fixed Temp.++Exponential Amplification+++++Generic Signal Generation+Easily Automatable
The basis of the amplification procedure in the PCR and LCR is the fact that the products of one cycle become usable templates in all subsequent cycles, consequently doubling the population with each cycle. The final yield of any such doubling system can be expressed as: (1+X)n=y, where “X” is the mean efficiency (percent copied in each cycle), “n” is the number of cycles, and “y” is the overall efficiency, or yield of the reaction (Mullis, PCR Methods Applic., 1:1 [1991]). If every copy of a target DNA is utilized as a template in every cycle of a polymerase chain reaction, then the mean efficiency is 100%. If 20 cycles of PCR are performed, then the yield will be 220, or 1,048,576 copies of the starting material. If the reaction conditions reduce the mean efficiency to 85%, then the yield in those 20 cycles will be only 1.8520, or 220,513 copies of the starting material. In other words, a PCR running at 85% efficiency will yield only 21% as much final product, compared to a reaction running at 100% efficiency. A reaction that is reduced to 50% mean efficiency will yield less than 1% of the possible product.
In practice, routine polymerase chain reactions rarely achieve the theoretical maximum yield, and PCRs are usually run for more than 20 cycles to compensate for the lower yield. At 50% mean efficiency, it would take 34 cycles to achieve the million-fold amplification theoretically possible in 20, and at lower efficiencies, the number of cycles required becomes prohibitive. In addition, any background products that amplify with a better mean efficiency than the intended target will become the dominant products.
Also, many variables can influence the mean efficiency of PCR, including target DNA length and secondary structure, primer length and design, primer and dNTP concentrations, and buffer composition, to name but a few. Contamination of the reaction with exogenous DNA (e.g., DNA spilled onto lab surfaces) or cross-contamination is also a major consideration. Reaction conditions must be carefully optimized for each different primer pair and target sequence, and the process can take days, even for an experienced investigator. The laboriousness of this process, including numerous technical considerations and other factors, presents a significant drawback to using PCR in the clinical setting. Indeed, PCR has yet to penetrate the clinical market in a significant way. The same concerns arise with LCR, as LCR must also be optimized to use different oligonucleotide sequences for each target sequence. In addition, both methods require expensive equipment, capable of precise temperature cycling.
Many applications of nucleic acid detection technologies, such as in studies of allelic variation, involve not only detection of a specific sequence in a complex background, but also the discrimination between sequences with few, or single, nucleotide differences. One method for the detection of allele-specific variants by PCR is based upon the fact that it is difficult for Taq polymerase to synthesize a DNA strand when there is a mismatch between the template strand and the 3′ end of the primer. An allele-specific variant may be detected by the use of a primer that is perfectly matched with only one of the possible alleles; the mismatch to the other allele acts to prevent the extension of the primer, thereby preventing the amplification of that sequence. This method has a substantial limitation in that the base composition of the mismatch influences the ability to prevent extension across the mismatch, and certain mismatches do not prevent extension or have only a minimal effect (Kwok et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 18:999 [1990]).)
A similar 3′-mismatch strategy is used with greater effect to prevent ligation in the LCR (Barany, PCR Meth. Applic., 1:5 [1991]). Any mismatch effectively blocks the action of the thermostable ligase, but LCR still has the drawback of target-independent background ligation products initiating the amplification. Moreover, the combination of PCR with subsequent LCR to identify the nucleotides at individual positions is also a clearly cumbersome proposition for the clinical laboratory.
II. Direct Detection Technology
When a sufficient amount of a nucleic acid to be detected is available, there are advantages to detecting that sequence directly, instead of making more copies of that target, (e.g., as in PCR and LCR). Most notably, a method that does not amplify the signal exponentially is more amenable to quantitative analysis. Even if the signal is enhanced by attaching multiple dyes to a single oligonucleotide, the correlation between the final signal intensity and amount of target is direct. Such a system has an additional advantage that the products of the reaction will not themselves promote further reaction, so contamination of lab surfaces by the products is not as much of a concern. Traditional methods of direct detection including Northern and Southern blotting and RNase protection assays usually require the use of radioactivity and are not amenable to automation. Recently devised techniques have sought to eliminate the use of radioactivity and/or improve the sensitivity in automatable formats. Two examples are the “Cycling Probe Reaction” (CPR), and “Branched DNA” (bDNA) The cycling probe reaction (CPR) (Duck et al., BioTech., 9:142 [1990]), uses a long chimeric oligonucleotide in which a central portion is made of RNA while the two termini are made of DNA. Hybridization of the probe to a target DNA and exposure to a thermostable RNase H causes the RNA portion to be digested. This destabilizes the remaining DNA portions of the duplex, releasing the remainder of the probe from the target DNA and allowing another probe molecule to repeat the process. The signal, in the form of cleaved probe molecules, accumulates at a linear rate. While the repeating process increases the signal, the RNA portion of the oligonucleotide is vulnerable to RNases that may be carried through sample preparation.
Branched DNA (bDNA), described by Urdea et al., Gene 61:253-264 (1987), involves oligonucleotides with branched structures that allow each individual oligonucleotide to carry 35 to 40 labels (e.g., alkaline phosphatase enzymes). While this enhances the signal from a hybridization event, signal from non-specific binding is similarly increased.
While both of these methods have the advantages of direct detection discussed above, neither the CPR or bDNA methods can make use of the specificity allowed by the requirement of independent recognition by two or more probe (oligonucleotide) sequences, as is common in the signal amplification methods described in Section I. above. The requirement that two oligonucleotides must hybridize to a target nucleic acid in order for a detectable signal to be generated confers an extra measure of stringency on any detection assay. Requiring two oligonucleotides to bind to a target nucleic acid reduces the chance that false “positive” results will be produced due to the non-specific binding of a probe to the target. The further requirement that the two oligonucleotides must bind in a specific orientation relative to the target, as is required in PCR, where oligonucleotides must be oppositely but appropriately oriented such that the DNA polymerase can bridge the gap between the two oligonucleotides in both directions, further enhances specificity of the detection reaction. However, it is well known to those in the art that even though PCR utilizes two oligonucleotide probes (termed primers) “non-specific” amplification (i.e., amplification of sequences not directed by the two primers used) is a common artifact. This is in part because the DNA polymerase used in PCR can accommodate very large distances, measured in nucleotides, between the oligonucleotides and thus there is a large window in which non-specific binding of an oligonucleotide can lead to exponential amplification of inappropriate product. The LCR, in contrast, cannot proceed unless the oligonucleotides used are bound to the target adjacent to each other and so the full benefit of the dual oligonucleotide hybridization is realized.
An ideal direct detection method would combine the advantages of the direct detection assays (e.g., easy quantification and minimal risk of carry-over contamination) with the specificity provided by a dual oligonucleotide hybridization assay.